year 2 maths mental-oral starters – free
get your maths lesson going with a bang!
each term, we provide 48 starters – enough for 4 per week for 12 weeks – plus 3 sets of 12 ‘fun-fair friday’ tests.
starters are categorised under key mathematical skills – see headings below. in each download, expect starters further down the list to get slightly harder. most starters include a couple of quite challenging questions!
starters with an e at the end of the download filename are easier, as they revisit skills from year 1 or from previous terms.
in autumn, children count on or back in 1s, being able to say the next number (one more) or the number before (one less) than any given number. they also rehearse counting in steps of 2, 5, 10 and 3. counting in twos can be from an odd or even number. in spring and summer, counts of 3, 5 or 10 may not start on a multiple.
autumn: count on and back in 1s (7) | count in 2s, 5s, 10s and 3s (4)
spring: count on and back in 1s (4) | count in 2s, 5s, 10s and 3s (4)
summer: count on and back in 1s (4) | count in 2s, 5s, 10s and 3s (4)
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children partition numbers into tens and ones. they read numbers, recombining the parts. they compare numbers and place them in order. finally, they place and identify numbers on a line or on the 1-100 grid. in summer, they write inequalities to compare numbers, using < or >.
autumn: 2-digit place value (3) | compare and order 2-digit numbers (8) | place 2-digit numbers on a line or grid (5)
spring: 2-digit place value (4) | compare & order 2-digit numbers (4) | place numbers on a line or grid (6)
summer: 2-digit place value (4) | compare & order numbers (4) | place numbers on a track, line or grid (3)
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children rehearse number bonds to 10, applying this to add to the next multiple of 10. they recall pairs of numbers adding to 7, 8 and 9, along with subtraction facts for numbers to 20. they recognise and identify unit patterns, using these to develop fluency in mental addition and subtraction. in spring, children begin to rehearse unit patterns that cross – ‘bridge’ – a 10 when adding and subtracting, and practise counting on in 10s and 1s to add. in summer, they count back in 1s or 10s to subtract.
autumn: addition and subtraction number bonds and pairs (6) | unit patterns in addition and subtraction (5)
spring: count on in 10s & 1s to add (2) | number bonds & pairs (6) | unit patterns, including bridging 10 (5)
summer: count on in 10s & 1s to add (2) | count back in 10s or 1s to subtract (2) | number bonds & pairs (6) | unit patterns, including bridging 10 (5)
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in autumn, each starter takes one or more times tables as a focus, practising multiplication facts for the 2x, 5x, 10x and 3x tables. in the easier tables (2x and 10x) we add some tricky questions intended to pose a challenge outside simple recall of facts. some children will love this. encourage all children to have a go! in spring, division facts are introduced, separate from multiplication facts; in summer, the two are rehearsed side by side.
autumn: times tables (4)
spring: multiplication facts (3) | division facts (2)
summer: tables and division (5)
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children rehearse known facts, e.g. double 6 is 12 and half of 18 is 9. they need to ensure fluency, recognising the simple doubles such as double 3, and identifying numbers that are easy to halve, such as 6.
in spring, children calculate or recall simple unit fractions of amounts, supported by whole-part images. in summer, they also calculate 2/3 and 3/4 of amounts.
autumn: doubling and halving numbers (2)
spring: double and halve (2) | fractions of amounts (2)
summer: double and halve (2) | fractions of amounts (2)
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in autumn, children look at coins and practise swift and confident identification. by spring, they are using place value to count/ combine totals as well as counting up to find change from 10p, 20p and 50p. in summer, they begin to find change from £1.
in autumn, children rehearse telling the time to the hour and half hour on analogue clocks. telling time to the quarter hour is introduced in spring and secured in summer.
autumn: coin recognition (2) | tell the time (2)
spring: money - totals and change (2) | telling the time (2)
summer: money - totals and change (2) | telling the time (2)
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the tests each have ten questions and are fun to do as children compete not against each other, but against their pb (personal best). each week, they see where they have got to on the fun-fair height chart – which rides will they be able to do?
choose a test to fit the starters you have done this week. download the tests overview to make your choice.